Safety belt indicating device



Nov. 26, 1963 w. o. BENNIN G SAFETY BELT INDICATING DEVICE Filed July11, 1962 INVENTOR. WILBERT O. BENNING United States Patent Office 3',llZAh? Patented Nov. 26, 1963 3,112,467 SAFETY BELT INDICATING DEVIQEWilbert (it. Benning, 3900 Nuttman Ave, Ext Fort Wayne, Ind. Filed.l'uly 11, 19612, Ser. No. 209,049 4 Claims. ((1 340-52) This inventionrelates in general to an indicating device, and more particularly itrelates to an indicating device used with safety seat belts adapted tobe mounted in a motor vehicle.

The primary object of this invention is the provision of a visualindicating means or signal which is visible to the driver and passengersin the motor vehicle, to inform the river whether or not the safety seatbelts are properly fastened. In all likelihood legislation will beadopted to require the use of safety seat belts due to the fact that ithas been established that a great many lives can be saved by their use.Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a visualindicating means which can be observed outside of the automobile byenforcement ofiicials.

t is a further object of this invention to provide an indicator whichmay be installed as original equipment or can be installed as anaccessory or optional equipment on existing safety seat belts.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an indicator forsafety seat belts which is automatic in its operation and requiressubstantially no adjustment or maintenance by the owner of the motorvehicle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a safety seat beltindicator which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and easy toinstall in any motor vehicle having safety seat belts.

One embodiment of suitable structure by means of which the abovementioned, and other advantages of the invention, may be obtained willbe described in the following specification taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawing showing a preferred illustrative embodiment ofthe invention, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view showing one embodiment of the safety seat beltindicator as applied to the front and rear of a motor vehicle;

FIGURE 2 is a detail cross-sectional view of the glow lamp used as thefront indicator in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a schematic electrical diagram illustrating the circuits ofthe indicator.

Referring to FlGURE 1, the reference numeral f designates an automobilewith parts removed to illustrate the mounting of safety seat belts l2and 13 therein. A glow lamp or indicator 14- provided with an amberlight 16 and a green light 18 is mounted on the ledge Ztl of theinstrument panel 22, and positioned near the left hand side of thewindshield so as not to obstruct the vision of the driver. The preciselocation for the mounting of the indicator or glow lamp 14 is notcritical, the prime purpose being to locate the indicator so that itwill be visible to the driver of the motor vehicle as well as to othersoutside of the automobile. A second glow lamp 224 is installed ormounted behind the rear seat so that it is visible through the rearwindow of the motor vehicle. Again, the precise location of theindicating signal may be varied as the prime purpose is to locate theindicator so that it is visible to law enforcement officials or to otherpersons who may be checking the motor vehicle to determine whether ornot the safety seat belts are being properly used. For example,insurance companies will grant lower insurance rates for motor vehiclesequipped with safety seat belts, and particularly to taxicabs andcommercial concerns using safety seat belts.

2 In such event the insurance company would make periodic checks on theinsured to determine whether or not the safety seat belts were beingproperly used and thus determine whether or not the insured would beentitled to the lower insurance rate.

Referring to FIGURES 2 and 3, the reference numeral 26 designates amounting provided with a housing 25 to support the indicators or glowlamps l6 and 18. The indicators 16 and 18 are provided with a threadedportion 30 and a flange 32. The indicators 16 and 18 are secured to thehousing 23 by means of a nut 34 and lock washer 36. A partition orshield 38 is disposed intermediate the housing to separate the greenlight 18 from the amber light 15. A conventional light bulb 40 ismounted in each compartment 42 and 4-4, by means of a bracket 46 whichserves as a ground for each bulb. A rubber grommet 48 is disposed in thebase 26 to support a hot wire or lead 56).

Referring to FIGURE 4, the reference numeral 52 designates a low voltagerelay selector switch which is connected to the battery through themanual ignition switch 54 of the motor vehicle it The seat belts 12 and13 are provided with a conductive wire which may be woven into thefabric of the belt so that when the buckle of each belt is fastened acircuit is established from the ground as to the battery, through thebelt 12, line 58, belt 13, line Gil, relay 52, line 62 and switch 54whereby the relay 52 will be energized transferring the switch blade 64to contact 66. A circuit will be established from the battery to thegreen indicator 18 in the front indicator 14, through the switch 54,line 62, line 68, contact 66, line 73 and line 72. The light 18 of theback indicator 24 will be energized through line 74 which is connectedin series with line 7 i If the buckle 17 and 19 of either belt 12. or 13is unfastened .the circuit will be broken and the relay 52 deenergizedthus returning the switch blade 64 to contact .76 which will establish acircuit to the amber light 16 in the front indicator 14, from thebattery through switch 54, line 62, line 63", contact 76, line '79 andline 80. The am ber light 16 in the back indicator 24 will also beenergized through line 32. which is connected in series with line 78.When the amber light 16 is energized, the driver or the enforcementofficial will know that one of the seat belts is not properly fastened.

if the motor vehicle is provided with safety seat belts in the rear seatthey may be connected in series with the front seat belts to indicatewhether or not they are properly fastened.

The detail construction of the glow lamp 24 is not illustrated as it issubstantially similar to the glow lamp 14 except that the interiorindicator lights are omitted.

Operation The front indicator l4 and back indicator 24 will be energizedwhen the ignition switch 54 is closed to either establish a circuit tothe amber light 16 or to the green light 13. If either buckle '17 or '19of the seat belts 12 or 13 is unfastened a circuit is establishedthrough the relay switch 64 to the amber light 16. When the seat beltsare properly fastened a circuit is established through the relay 52which will energize the relay transferring the switch plate 54 to thecontact 66 which will establish a circuit to the green light 18 in thefront indicator 14 and to the back indicator 24. It is readily apparentthat by the use of the above disclosed indicators that a driver orpersons outside of the automobile can determine whether or not the seatbelts are properly fastened.

In View of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, it is believed that a clear understanding of thedevice will be quite ap- 3 parent to those skilled in this art. A moredetailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawingherein are illustrative merely and that various modifications andchanges may be made in the structure disclosed without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. An indicating device for safety seat belts comprising, incombination:

(a) a visual signal means having green and amber lights, said signalmeans disposed on the ledge with in a motor vehicle above the motorvehicle instrument panel and adjacent to windshield,

(b) a pair of safety seat belts adapted to be mounted in a motorvehicle,

(c) said belts provided with means for conducting an electrical currentthe-rethrough,

(a') electrical means adapted to pass current through said seat beltswhereby when the seat belts are fastened the green light will be visibleand when the seat belts are unfastened the amber light will be visible.

2. An indicating device for safety seat belts for motor vehiclescomprising, in combination:

(a) a visual signal means having green and amber lights,

(b) said signal means being disposed on a ledge above the vehicleinstrument panel and adjacent to windshield so that it will be visibleto the driver of the vehicle and to others outside of the vehicle,

(c) a pair of safety seat belts adapted to be mounted in said vehicle,

(d) said belts provided with means for conducting an electrical currenttherethrough,

(e) electrical means adapted to pass current through said seat beltswhereby when the seat belts are properly fastened the green light willbe visible and when the seat belts are unfastened the amber light willbe visible.

3. A safety seat belt indicator for motor vehicles comprising, incombination:

(a) a pair of safety seat in a motor vehicle,

(11) said belts provided with means for passing an electrical currenttherethrough,

belts adapted to be mounted (0) a pair of glow lamps having green andamber lights,

(d) one of said glow lamps being disposed on a ledge above the vehicleinstrument panel and adjacent to windshield and the other glow lampdisposed within the vehicle so that it is visible irom the rear of thevehicle whereby said glow lamps are visible to the driver of the vehicleand to others outside of the vehicle,

(e) electrical means including a power supply and a selector switchconnected in series with said belts so that current will flow throughsaid belts when they are properly fastened to energize the green lightof the glow lamp and to energize the amber light of the glow lamp whenone of the belts are unfastened.

4. A safety seat belt indicator for motor vehicles comprising, incombination:

(a) a pair of safety seat in a motor vehicle,

(1)) said belts provided with means for passing an electrical currenttherethrough,

(c) a pair of glow lamps having green and amber lights,

(d) one of said glow lamps being disposed on a ledge above the vehicleinstrument panel adjacent to windshield and the other glow lamp disposedso that it is visible from the rear of the vehicle whereby said glowlamps are visible to the driver of the vehicle and to others outside ofthe vehicle,

(e) electrical means including a power supply, manual switch and a lowvoltage relay connected in series with said belts so that current willflow through said belts when they are properly fastened to energize therelay whereby a circuit to the green light of the glow lamp will beestablished and when one of the belts are unfastened the relay will bedeenergized belts adapted to be mounted to establish a circuit to theamber light of the glow lamp.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES FATENTS

4. A SAFETY SEAT BELT INDICATOR FOR MOTOR VEHICLES COMPRISING, INCOMBINATION: (A) A PAIR OF SAFETY SEAT BELTS ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ON AMOTOR VEHICLE, (B) SAID BELTS PROVIDED WITH MEANS FOR PASSING ANELECTRICAL CURRENT THERETHROUGH, (C) A PAIR OF GLOW LAMPS HAVING GREENAND AMBER LIGHTS,